Author: josh

Hartz Flea and Tick drops remain under review by the Environmental Protection Agency, but since News 8 Austin brought you this story two months ago, we have received more reports about dogs and cats having reactions to the product.

A local pet owner who complained to Hartz has received a check from the Hartz Mountain Corporation after her cat survived a bad reaction. Hartz said their product is safe, but leaves the question: Why is the company now reimbursing some customers for their veterinarian bills?

When Ileen Thar’s cat, Hogan, began itching from fleas, she thought she was doing the right thing by applying Hartz Advanced Care Flea and Tick Drops. Later that day, she noticed Hogan acting strangely.

“I noticed that Hogan had thrown up and I didn’t know if it was a hair ball, or what, so I kind of cleaned it up and ignored it and then he got on the bed and he was like twitching and had violent tremors and he looked like he was disillusioned … like he was kind of swatting at weird things, and his whole body was shaking,” Thar said.

Thar’s veterinarian told her that Hogan had been poisoned by the drops and they would need to keep him overnight. Several vet bills later, Thar was out more than $300. She decided to write to the Hartz Mountain Corporation and tell them of Hogan’s reaction to their product. A month later a reimbursement check was delivered to Thar in the mail.

“I was happy, but the letter was just like, ‘Sorry about your pet, but we’ve been in business and we know what we’re doing. We’re following our guildelines, and you know, here’s a check,'” said Thar.

Hogan is not the only one who experienced such extreme reactions to Hartz Products. The EPA is currently reviewing more than a thousand separate incident reports concerning four of Hartz pet care products.

In the letter to Thar, Hartz said, “As a gesture of goodwill …” they are enclosing a check to assist in veterinary expenses.

Hartz veterinarian Gwen Fernich said the company reviews each situation on an individual basis. “I don’t think that Hartz is saying that the product caused the cat to have this kind of reaction,” Fernich said through a phone interview. “I think that cats are very, very sensitive animals. There is an investigation that is going on and there’s nothing that has been found that has proven that the product is indeed dangerous and all of the ingredients in the product are safe to use on both dogs and cats.”

Thar said she is not sure she will cash the check because she would have to give up any further legal claims. She did say she will never buy her pet products from anywhere else but her vet. She believes if Hartz products remain on the shelves, they should be relabeled.

“There should be something that says, ‘Possible side effects could be,’ and had I known that, I probably would have put that package right back and that’s probably why they don’t want that on the shelves,” Thar said.

The EPA said they should complete their review into Hartz products by mid-September. They are still going through 4,000 pages of information.

See below for a complete list of products.
In last two years, Hartz brand flea control drops have been accused of making a number of cats and dogs sick. In some cases the drops were thought to be the cause of a pet’s death.

An Austin family had a scare themselves after applying a treatment of Hartz Advanced Care flea drops to their 5-year-old dog.

“He was just … kept bleeding uncontrollably; he was dizzy; he was nautious; he was throwing up,” said Barbara Warfield of her Gordon Setter named Zach. “He wouldn’t eat. He was so weak he couldn’t hardly stand up, and the little baby, I don’t think he would have lasted another two or three hours.”

After a trip to an emergency clinic and several trips to the veterinarian, Zach was still very ill. Shortly thereafter Frank Warfield, Barbara’s husband, saw a News 8 Austin report concerning the drops and realized the possible cause of his pet’s sickness.

The Warfields with their now healthy dog Zach.
“Channel 8 was on and I hadn’t sat in my chair 30 seconds until a veterinarian came on and said the dogs were experiencing nausea and vomiting and, you know, had all the symptoms he had,” said Frank. “And then she started saying that it was this Hartz medicine, and that was the first time I had remembered that I had given him that bath and I had put Hartz medicine on him.”

The Warfields gave Zach a bath and said they noticed an immediate difference. Afterward they called the Hartz Mountain Corporation and were surprised at the reaction they got. “They just kind of sluffed it off like they didn’t care or they weren’t interested,” Barbara said.

Environmental Protection Agency officials requested all reported incidents of cat and dog illnesses from Hartz in March. Currently they are reviewing that data and said it’s too soon to announce the possibility of a recall.

“It’s a question of trying to make sure that the label instructions are clear and there may be some changes in that regard, but I think that it would be premature to guess the outcome of this,” said Kate Bouve of the EPA, through a phone interview. “Our goal is to do an assessment of the best information available to us and to make the best scientific and regulatory decision
that we can based on that information.”

Hartz continues to stand by their products as effective flea control methods until there is scientific data from the EPA to prove otherwise.

Veterinarians recommend pet owners purchase flea remedies from clinics and not over the counter. There are many different brands and types of flea drops and veterinarians can help you determine the best treatment for your pet.

Hartz Mountain Corporation flea protection products are now under scientific review by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Following up on a story News 8 Austin reported last month, the EPA became concerned after reports of several deaths, hundreds of seizures and thousands of minor incidents involving cats and dogs who used Hartz flea control products.

Hartz Control One Spot for dogs and cats and Hartz Advanced Care Flea and Tick Drops are the products the EPA wants more information about.

Local Veterinarian Christine Duvall said she knows first hand the problem with over-the-counter flea drops. “When I heard that the EPA was finally looking into these products, I felt like saying it’s about time because I’ve been calling everytime my patients get sick,” Duvall of the Brodie Animal Hospital said. “Other veterinarians have been calling. Many clients have been calling. We’ve all been calling and complaining for a couple of years. So I was relieved to hear that finally something is being done about it.”

Hartz said the products are safe when used as directed, but admits some animals may have allergic reactions. The EPA asked for specific information from Hartz to find out why these incidents are happening. The EPA has not recalled the products; they will not make any determination on their safety until the scientific review is over.

This is the story that was aired
on Austin’s News 8. Elise and I contacted News 8 the morning we found
Riley had become ill after having been given the Hartz Advanced Care Flea & Tick Drops
Plus for cats.

Janicek and Boeckman said they followed the directions and applied the product on Riley’s back. And less than 12 hours later, they said, Riley was acting very strange.

“He was shaking uncontrollably, he was acting really weird like he was freezing to death and he was acting like he was hallucinating, he was swatting at invisible things,? Janicek said.

They immediately called an emergency veterinarian hospital and took him in. Dr. Chris Duvall said that since flea season has started she’s seen other cats with the same kind of problems. Other vets have made similar reports. The vets said the symptoms can be fatal if animals don’t get treatment quickly … like Riley did.

“Cats are very sensitive to drugs because they have very unique livers and they metabolize drugs very poorly so they are very sensitive to a lot of things,? Duvall said.

That’s why Duval recommends pet owners avoid over-the-counter treatments and stick to prescription drugs from veterinarians. Duvall said pet owners should never use a product meant for a dog on a cat. She said if you use an over-the-counter product on your animal and notice a strange reaction, you should wash the animal with a liquid dish detergent and call a veterinarian.

“The newer compounds we are selling at the veterinary products are Midicloprid and Fiprinil and they are very safe they are very new compounds that attack the insect’s nervous system but have no affect on mammals people or animals where the older compounds Pyrethrian is a pesticide that’s been around for 30 years. It’s been around a long time and it’s never really worked well and it’s always caused problems,? Duvall said.

But she warned consumers not to be fooled. Both products look very similar.

“The over-the-counter products you see in the grocery store and pet stores are packaged almost identically to the veterinary products so clients actually think they are buying the veterinary product and are putting it on their cat and it’s a totally different ingredient,? Duvall said.

When asked for a comment The Hartz Mountain Corp. responded in written statement, “In certain cases, cats may have a genuine reaction to a flea and tick product. It’s like people and medicines — some people cannot take certain medicines.”

Janicek and Boeckman are happy to have Riley back to normal. They said they?re not taking any more chances. They’ll read the ingredients first and ask their vet if the product will be safe for Riley.

NEW YORK? On November 15, 2001, the law firm of Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP and Squitieri & Fearon, LLP filed the first class action lawsuit on behalf Advanced Care Brand Flea & Tick Drops for Cats (“Advanced Care Drops”) users against The Hartz Mountain Corp. (“Hartz”). The complaint was filed on behalf of Dr. Judy VanWyk and all other consumers of Hartz Advanced Care Drops who have been injured by Defendants’ improper acts and practices. The class action complaint seeks to recover compensatory damages as well as equitable relief to permanently enjoin Defendant Hartz from the sale, manufacture and/or distribution of Advanced Care Drops and other relief. If you would like to be involved in the action or would simply like to receive updates about the progress of this suit via e-mail, please fill out the Consumer Information Form/Questionnaire we have prepared by clicking here. If you would like to contact us directly, please send an e-mail to[email protected] or call Anthony Vozzolo, Esq. at (877)247-4292 or (212)983-9330. Additionally, we are investigating similar problems with other Hartz products and would also like to know about your experiences. Please keep us informed of your experiences by completing a Consumer Information Form/Questionnaire which can be found on the firm’s website atwww.faruqilaw.com.

HOUSTON — A product that pet owners use to protect their furry friends may cause serious harm, News2Houston reported Thursday.

A few drops of a flea control product that are administered on a pet’s back may be poisoning them because of the toxins inside, which could be too strong for cats.

Some pet owners and veterinarians are calling for the product, Hartz Care Advanced Flea and Tick Drops Plus, to be pulled from store shelves.

Last May, Bob Murphy applied the drops to his cat, Little Guy. Within days, he said Little Guy became extremely ill.

“Instead of meowing or anything, he just kind of had a guttural-type sound, like he was in pain,” Murphy said.

A trip to the emergency room showed that the cat suffered from toxic poisoning, the same kind that caused another cat, Kirby, to have seizures.

The common link — an insecticide named phenothrin, which is the primary ingredient found in some flea and tick products.

“They can’t detoxify it as well so it builds up in their blood stream and when it does that, it causes toxic signs of the nervous system,” said Dr. William Folger, a veterinarian with Memorial Cat Hospital.

Folger said the toxins could lead to coma or death.

“Think of this as a human drug and 40 or 50 deaths have been reported, this drug would already be off the market,” Folger said.

The Environmental Protection Agency is investigating Hartz due to the number, severity and consistency of adverse reaction to the product. The agency strongly recommends that proposed labeling on the package not be accepted. Officials said that they found it confusing, possibly “causing pet owners to delay treatment of potentially fatal neurological signs of toxicity.”

Hartz sent News2Houston the following response.

“We would not expect following package directions and applying the appropriate dosage to cause any adverse reactions.”

“We stand firmly behind these products,” a Hartz spokesman said.

After months of treatment, Little Guy is on the road to recovery, though he still suffers from lingering neurological problems.

Hartz sent Murphy a reimbursement check of $1,735.50 to cover medical costs.

Hartz is reportedly working on the wording on the back of its product.

More than 350 pet owners have joined together in a class-action lawsuit against Hartz, according to News2Houston.

Experts said that pet owners should look for the following warning signs.

Loss of appetite

Facial twitching

Loss of balance

Coma

Any pets that exhibit the warning signs should be taken for treatment immediately.